Job Interview Concern

i have an important job interview and the manager wants to meet me for lunch. first of all i hate combining food/meals with important things like job interviews but i am also worried about eating out at a place i am unsure of . I most certainly cant bring up my food issues on the interview and not sure what the manager has in mind for lunch. how should i handle this?

Perhaps go ahead with lunch but just tell him you have celiac and would like to choose the restaurant. Is there a place you trust?

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Sara

Busy mom to 3 great kids (4, 8 and 18)

Gluten free since April 6, 2011 ~ Also sensitive to coconut, coffee and food dyes

Joint pain, mouth sores, back and neck pain, migraines, stomach pain, chronic fatigue, ADD and depression are all gone.
Wishing I had been diagnosed before celiac robbed me of the cartilage in my toes and the 3 babies we lost to miscarriages.

Is this job something that would require you to eat out a lot? Like would you have to take clients out to lunch or something? I think I would scheduela late "lunch" interview like at 1 or 2 PM then order only a salad with no croutons, with olive oil and lemon on the side. But I wouldn't eat it. hardlya bite. Get yourself something to eat beforore hand so you are not hungry and just sip on your drink. They usually don't expect you to eat anyway for a lunch interview. Make up a list of questions and to ask to keep so busy taking that you are not worried about the food. If he insisted you eat up because it's on the company then reply, "Oh that's very generous but I would much rather discuss the position..." then either ask a question or if it seems liek he is tryignt ot get a break from talking to eat himself then you could start listing all the qualities you have that make you a perfect candidate.

Another option is to find out about the place before hand and arrive early enough to speak to the manager about what you can have that is safe. Then you can explain that you are having a lunch interview there and you don't want to draw attention to your "food issues" and want to pre-order you meal to be prepared/served at the same time as your interviewers meal. They might even seat you in the bar to wait for your interviewer so when he arrives you can say you arrived early and decided what you wanted already. as long as you are upbeat and confident about it everythign shoudl be fine. You might even fidn the manager will come around to cehck and make sure your food is to your liking, which I know you may be thinking that would be embarrassing but it could also be very flattering and possibly impress the interviewer that you made such a good connection with the manager that they are checking on you. It all depends on how you look at it and how you handle it.

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A simple meal with love is better than a feast where there is hatred. Proverbs 15:17 (CEV)

yes its for a sales job and honestly im gonna be stressed out enough and dont need additional anxiety about getting glutened on a job interview. i work in sales now and i do fine when i travel but i just dont wanna bring it up on the interview. we are meeting at a hotel with several restaurants so we could be going to any of them. see what i mean? if i tell him i have a commitment for my other job during lunch hors and ask to meet any other time during the day would that be ok?

yes its for a sales job and honestly im gonna be stressed out enough and dont need additional anxiety about getting glutened on a job interview. i work in sales now and i do fine when i travel but i just dont wanna bring it up on the interview. we are meeting at a hotel with several restaurants so we could be going to any of them. see what i mean? if i tell him i have a commitment for my other job during lunch hors and ask to meet any other time during the day would that be ok?

I guess you could always do that and just ask to meet for drinks in the evening or coffee if meeting in the afternoon. I don't see why that would be bad if handled in the right way.

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A simple meal with love is better than a feast where there is hatred. Proverbs 15:17 (CEV)

I don't think there's anything wrong with just rescheduling to a non-meal time. I'd thank him for the generosity of the lunch offer, too, and if you think schmoozing will help you land the job, offer to go for coffee/tea. Sometimes they take you to lunch to size you up in social situations and make sure you're not a jerk.

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glutenfree since 6/2011. sick for 30 years.

borderline blood test, negative biopsy.

SEVERELY sensitive celiac with DH. sensitive to contact and ingestion.

If you were allergic to peanuts, would you try to keep that a secret? Would you risk anaphylaxis by not telling the server?

I believe that honesty is the best policy. If you hide it during the interview, you will still have to deal with it later. They may then wonder why you hid it, and what else you may be hiding.

I agree, it shouldn't matter in this position. Being Celiac has nothing to do with your job. Just think, at some point they will know you are a celiac! Tell them and best of luck to you! Please call ahead if you can. Be safe, I understand about getting a job. I'm about to lose mine. Best luck to you!

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How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.
George Washington Carver

Another thought, going beyond the interview to the job itself. You probably already know this, but I'll throw it out for discussion.

I have worked in sales support, and have been to many customer food events. If you are the vendor (sales rep) then you are the host. The host controls the venue. I took customer preferences and requirements into consideration, but at the end of the day, as the guy buying, the final choice of location was always mine. Celiac disease should not prevent you from doing the job, and if the prospective employer can't "get" that, then maybe that is not such a good place for you to work.

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PeterDiagnosis by biopsy of practically non-existent villi; gluten-free since July 2000.Type 1 (autoimmune) diabetes diagnosed in March 1986Markham, Ontario (borders on Toronto)

If you're working another part time job, it will be fine to ask for a different interview time. It's better to show up and be confident at a neuetral location than to worry about what will happen at lunch.

If it ends up that you must have a lunch interview, my go to order is broiled fish or shellfish in olive oil, no seasoning please, over greens, no dressing or croutons or cheese. If they have a spare wedge of lemon or lime, you'd love it. I think most restaurants use a clean dish for broiling. I' m not confident about
their grill.

Hope this helps, good luck with your interview!

I'd tell the guy that's interviewing me that I'm on the South Beach Diet and lost 20 pounds. I'd be telling the truth. (I actually lost 35 lb.)